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Welcome to our new weekly blog series! Each month we will feature one of our amazing Bread and Yoga teachers sharing their thoughts or teachings from their class with you and our community! Our very first post below comes from Joseph Glaser. Check back every Saturday for a new post.

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Namaste dearest Bread and Yoga community,

I’ve been told that this teachers blog has been a long time coming and I am honored to be its ﬁrst contributor. I am thankful for this opportunity because it allows me to expand on one of my most valued practices. How do we take what we have cultivated in the studio and continue to apply it to the other aspects of our lives?

For those who don’t know me, I am one of the Hathavidya teachers at Bread and Yoga.

For those who don’t know Hathavidya, here is our mission statement: Hathavidya is an inclusive science comprised of yogic principles evolved from the teachings of Will Duprey that purify, empower and uplift the spirit toward creating clarity and elevating the human experience. The classes won’t differ much from any other Hatha class and it is applicable to all levels. A video will be coming out soon on the Bread and Yoga YouTube channel with Lisa Benner and myself discussing Hathavidya more in depth so look out for that. We also have three Hathavidya workshops at Bread and Yoga between January 18th and March 2nd.

Recently in class we have been working with the topic of perfection. The truth is we are not perfect. Imperfection is part of the human condition. A problem occurs when we start to develop ideals of perfection, and they are different for all of us. We want to look perfect, be the perfect spouse, have a perfect career, and do all the yoga asana perfectly. Whatever our ideals are we can want them deeply. We think we need them to feel worthy, to be accepted. As Brenè Brown says in her profoundly, inspiring book, The Gifts of Imperfection, “We hustle for our worthiness rather than claim it.”

Imperfection is part of the human condition.

So what can we do about it? Well, Mrs. Brown suggests a change in perspective. Instead of looking at our imperfections as pieces of ourselves we need to feel ashamed of and hide from the world, we realize that our “imperfections” give us very deep spiritual growth opportunities. If we never experienced fear we would never cultivate bravery. If we never knew what it is to be vulnerable then we would never feel love, compassion, and support. It helps when we can see the tangible gifts of our imperfections.

When we start to embrace our “perfections” and our “imperfections” equally than we stop running away from or towards anything. We are content. The hard part about this practice is that it isn’t a choice we make just once. It is a choice that we must make every time we bump up against our imperfections. We cannot just decide that we will never shun our imperfections again. Every time we feel vulnerable is a new chance to practice. It is a lifelong practice.

Accepting our imperfections may be uncomfortable, but isn’t the discomfort much less work than holding onto all the fear for a lifetime?

So let’s decide to show up for ourselves. Let’s decide to stop hustling for a sense of worthiness and simply claim it. Let’s embrace the beautiful gifts of our imperfections as much as possible. Remember that it takes time. Be patient with yourself. Love yourself. You are enough.